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"YOU!" Gianna spat out, not sure if she should break out in laughter at Adric's feeble attempt of a surprise attack or pretend to feel sorry for him. Ok, he thought, not good with the kicks, try something with the punches. He picked himself up and took a stance. Since Gianna was the closest, he targeted her. He had envisioned it would happen just as it happened in those movies, the back of his hand would make contact with her face, there would be a loud cracking sound and several of her teeth would be found flying through the air. He winded up with the backhanded punch, and swung at Gianna's jaw, and in fact, there was a loud cracking sound, only it came from his hand. He let out a loud inhuman howl as his fingers twisted and contorted, until he found a position where he would feel no pain. "Okay," the Skull-Faced man pushed at Adric to the floor, "if I wanted entertainment, I'd go down to the auditorium and take in a show." "I'm not here to entertain you," Adric said, "I'm here to rescue Lady Elizabeth." "Rescue Lady...you do realize by now that's neither her title nor her name?" The Skull Faced man had asked, "And you do realize as well that her father literally stole the entire Cyrenian Empire?" "And I bet when she wakes up, she'll have a different version of the story to tell, and meanwhile, let's hear Gianna's version of the story." "What?" Gianna asked. "Well, I pretty much know Skullface's story, and I can be sure of Lady Elizabeth's version of events, but I'm sure you had a part to play in those events." "I know nothing of the events." "NOTHING?" "Well, nothing first hand, only what was told to me by him," Gianna nodded towards the Skull Faced man. "In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if any of this story about the Cyrenian Empire is true at all," "Of course it's not," Lady Elizabeth groaned out as she wearily woke up out of her sleep, she tried to move, but found that she was bound. "In fact, the Cyrenian Empire does not even exist, and it never did. Sure, the planet may have been named Cyrenia, Sure, it's true that my father had bought this back-water planet for me to rule, he never poisoned the people like they claim... although they WERE poisoned," "Just not by your father," Adric had asked, as he began to undo her ties, "right?" "Gianna was there at the dinner, if I'm not mistaken." "What?" The Skull Faced man's face sank. "You mean--?" "What she means is it was the woman you've trusted the most for the past... however long it's been that has killed your "Crown Princess" Landreth." "If there ever WAS a Crown Princess Landreth, because the planet that my father had bought for me was a poor planet, and whatever wealth that had come to it, was because of a few productive businesses that I've set up on the planet." "There was a Crown Princess Landreth," the Skull Faced man said, "but the empire she was to have ruled was more of a few scattered villages and hamlets held together by a single rule. We had no weapons, no technology, even the sabres are a product of the technology that Lady Elizabeth had brought to our planet." He had to admit at least that. "It sounds like you should be grateful to her," Adric frowned. "It was just the sorrow of the loss of Princess Landreth had clouded my judgment, then my newfound friendship to Gianna just shortly afterwards... she had caused me to make an association in my very soul that it was the fact that our planet had been bought by her father at the very same time that she was murdered." "And why did you murder her?" "..." Gianna had nothing to say. "She probably doesn't remember why herself," Elizabeth looked her "friend" in the eyes. "But what gets me is how she could live with being 'friends' with both the woman she framed and the man to who Princess Landreth was betrothed." "She was playing both ends against each other ," Adric explained. "And everybody knows that when you burn a candle at both ends, you're bound to get burnt." He looked down at the candle. "What of your ceremony?" "Yes," the Skull Faced man looked at the candle that sat there burning, "I must continue on with the resurrection ceremony of Landreth, only instead of sacrificing Lady Elizabeth to resurrect her," he grabbed at Gianna, "I sacrifice YOU instead." Gianna screamed as the skull faced man grabbed at her. Suddenly, there was a pounding at the hull of the ship, the door began to buckle under the strain of a great battering ram, and several guards stood over the entire group with their guns drawn and aimed. "Can't you feel it?" Kwanalapalendesh whispered, closing his eyes, savouring. "Can't you feel the others?" "Terribly sorry," the Doctor said, backing away from the strange man. Kwanalapalendesh only followed him, slowly matching the Doctor's steps. "You must have the wrong host. I'm sure with a little time someone else will come along to suit your needs." "You are a very special person, Doctor. You will help us extend the hand of friendship to the rest of the universe. You will bring a presence of us to Endora. I assure you, the transformation is painless. You must come with me, so that I may help you through the process." Out of the corner of his eye, the Doctor saw Drake enter the lab and level his weapon at Kwanalapalendesh. "I don't think so," he said, grinning. Drake's energy weapon discharged in a blaze of white light, hitting the immaculately dressed man in the shoulder and knocking him to the floor. The Doctor turned to thank the Sergeant-- --and found himself staring down the end of Drake's gun. "Hey, whoa, nice timing you got there, and a perfect aim, too. The Doctor reached his finger out and nudged the barrel towards another direction, as if on a spring coil, the gun popped back into his direction. "Is there a reason for the gun still being aimed at somebody though?" "You have been infected," "What?" The Doctor's hand reached up at the scar on his neck. "This scratch?" "Yes," "How long have I been standing around here unchanged, huh?" The Doctor asked. "Several hours, right?" "Yes, so?" "How long was it between the time your friend was infected and the time he mutated?" "A few moments." "So, if I were infected, I should have mutated at about the same time as he did then. Right?" "I guess." "Sure, I got bruised and cut, but nothing more." "Still," Drake frowned, "they want us to wipe out all evidence of there being an incident here." "Which includes me and...well to put it bluntly...you." "Nonsense, I wasn't infected." "Well no," the Doctor mused, "but you do know about them. And how do you intend on wiping out all of the evidence?" "Firebomb the Casino," "Won't your bosses get mad at you?" "Doctor, they're the ones who ordered it." "Oh, I see," the Doctor frowned at the situation. "You logically could get rid of any infestation and prevent it from spreading out from this planet by firebombing the casino with everybody who could have possibly come in contact with the spores in any remote way, but why commit mass genocide when you don' t have to." "Doctor?" "Well, any good botanist or landscaper knows that there are a few chemicals out there that are deadly poison to most plant life, from the raggiest weed to the largest oak tree." "Such as?" "Well, such as sodium hypo-chlorite for example," "What's that?" "Household bleach," "What? Put that directly on the people who have been infected? Won't that burn their skin or something?" "Mind irritations might crop up, besides, we don't need to douse people completely in it, just convert a misting hose... you know, the kind they use to keep vegetables moist and insect free in the supermarkets, have people simply walk though it really fast, then of course take a shower afterwards. Then simply wash down all of the ships with the stuff--." "And that'll work?" The Doctor felt like shrugging, "Well that's what I use to keep the weeds at bay when I'm in my garden, and it works then. Besides, with Kwannapoopoo... no... Kwanapeinadish..." FORGET IT the Doctor decided, "Fred dead, I don't think the plants will have much life left in them." "But--" "But just to be on the safe side...I think it'll be best." "What if the people protest?" "THEN you can threaten to shoot them." "Well Doctor, will you be the first volunteer?" "Well, I don't think it'll be necessary for ME to shower in the stuff," he found the gun that had relaxed by Drake's side, had risen to the Doctor's head again, "you're very itchy to use that thing, aren't you?" Adric's hands found their way above his head in record time as the men with the guns found their way into the ship. Because of the lockdown, it had been unable to take off, and sat in take-off position in the bay. "I-I had nothing to do with their wanting to take off, I only wanted to rescue the princess," okay technically she was a lady, but who cared at this point. "And you have," Lady Elizabeth played along. "I-I have?" "Well, you proved that Gianna could not be trusted, that the take-over of the planet had no murderous intent in it on my father's part, and that my rule over the planet will be a proper one." "I did all of that?" "SHUT UP!" One of the guards finally found a word to wedge into the conversation. "You are all under arrest for attempting to take off during a lock-down." "But I just said..." Adric protested, "Oh, what's the use!" The Doctor was indeed the first to go through the shower. While it burned at his skin just a little, it had the effect of killing off any of the tiny spores that could have infected him. Now he found himself inside a shower of fresh hot water washing off the effects of the sodium hypo chlorite, and it had brought out every tiny odor that lurked about inside him. If they had allowed him to enter the TARDIS, he could have used the sonic shower, it was much more effective than soap and regular water in many ways, but the tiny bar of the sample soaps that they always gave out in the motels was working...just. In addition, while he was taking a shower, all of his clothes were being put through the same treatment. It was a terrible mess, but at least it was better than just firebombing the casino. He had also suggested that all of the plants that were put around the building be destroyed, for nobody was sure from where they came or when they were placed. As for the pods, they were destroyed by fire, a great big huge fire out in the farthest outskirts of the region. And if any new pods came...well, they were smart people, he was sure that they would no longer be keeping a collection of them around, even they didn't want a repeat of history to occur. Now with Fred dead, and the influence of the spores gone, all he had to worry about was collecting Adric and help him straighten out any incidences he had gotten in. But Adric was a bright boy, sure, a bit impulsive, but he knew how to handle himself. Adric again found himself inside the security cell. He looked up when the guard walked in. "Okay listen up," The guard spoke loudly, "they're not going to have us follow through with any charges for attempting to take off during a lock-down." "That's good." Adric smiled. "BUT there is still the problem of you lot raising all kinds of hell in a public place," the guard frowned, "but since no REAL damage was done to anything besides yourselves, you, you and you can go," he pointed to Adric, Lady Elizabeth and the Skull-faced Man respectfully, as long as the three of you NEVER step foot inside our Casino again." "What about me?" asked Gianna. "We got a post from the Universal Security Bureau," he smiled at Gianna evilly and almost greedily as he shuffled through a pile full of printed out wanted posters, "it seems as though you are wanted for murder on at least a dozen worlds, each one with a hefty reward. I could become a very rich man overnight!" "And I can make you even richer if you look the other way...with help from my best friend in the whole universe, Lady Elizabeth!" Lady Elizabeth almost broke out in laughter. "Gianna, I'll be testifying against you in court! And this friendship you speak of...was all based on deceit!" "Adric... that money you won could be a down payment." "I lost it somewhere," he frowned. Even if the statement wasn't true, he wouldn't give a penny of it to her. "Well," the skull faced man turned around to face Lady Elizabeth, "it looks like I won't be getting my Landreth back." "There are plenty of other women from your race; surely you can find something in one of them," "The laws of betrothal are very strict." "Laws can be altered, and even changed; you can sit in the courts and insure that." "You...would allow me to come back with you...even after I attempted to kill you?" "As long as you've put that behind you." "It was only because of my perceptions of the incident that had killed my Landreth that had brought it about, but now that I know the truth." "It has passed," "In my bones I still want to kill the one who killed her with my hands," he glared over to Gianna. "I'm sure justice will be served," Adric added. "You are right, we can see to it at her trial...done within the confines of the law...not based on a personal vendetta." "Oh," the guard looked at the three before they finally left the security offices, "there's just one more thing, because of a recent infestation of some sort of spores, and you all have to take a shower." "Do we have to?" Adric protested. "I don't need a shower; I took one a few days ago." "That's why you smell funny!" the skull faced man murmured. "And in a solution of sodium hypo chlorite at that." "What's that?" Lady Elizabeth asked. "Bleach." Then it hit Adric, "Wait a second!" He groaned. "That would mean that I'll have to take two showers, one in sodium hypo-chlorite to get rid of any possible spores, and another with soap and water to get rid of the sodium hypo-chlorite." "Awww! Poor baby!" Lady Elizabeth groaned out rather unsympathetically. Adric walked naked through the shower, with Lady Elizabeth behind him. Whoever came up with this set up left no room at all for dignity. Sure, he had wanted to see Lady Elizabeth naked just once, but not under these conditions, and not with several security personnel looking at him making sure he spent the required amount of time in the sodium hypo chlorite shower. And certainly not with those ugly underwater goggles over their eyes, and a tiny mask over their faces. Whose idea was this? He looked up and saw the Doctor smiling at him with his big toothy silly looking grin. "I just knew that there was a way to get you to take a shower," the Doctor said. "Don't YOU start!" Adric noticed that the Doctor was in his clothes and standing behind a glass screen. "Hey, how come YOU don't have to be in here?" "Already took one. You get that thing straightened out with that princess or some such that you wanted to rescue?" "Yeah, she's right behind me." "Oh," he looked at Lady Elizabeth and tipped his hat, and she was cute too, could plainly see what Adric would want to rescue her, "Hello!" "Hello," Lady Elizabeth said sheepishly. "Well, you two better go get that stuff washed off now, and then Adric, meet me back here when you're done." "Ok." It was 25 very long minutes for Adric before he decided the smell of the sodium hypo-chlorite had washed off his skin, he had gone through three bars of that soap, but at least he smelled clean. He walked into the makeshift shower room and finally met up with the Doctor. "I'm glad that's over with," Adric frowned, as he stepped up to the Doctor, "what's going on with all of this sodium hypo chlorite showers anyway?" "Oh, just a safety precaution, that's all, besides, it's better than the alternate plan." "Which was...?" Lady Elizabeth asked. "Firebombing the casino with everybody in it." "What?" "You're kidding," Adric hoped, "right?" "Nope." "What happened for them to even think of that?" "Oh, you the usual infestation," "Daleks?" "Not this time, a plant-based life form called Krynoids," the Doctor explained, "they thrive by taking over other life forms. Very nasty." "I can imagine," Lady Elizabeth responded, "but at least it's all over. It IS all over, isn't it?" "Oh, yes." "How did they get here?" "Some of them came in a spaceship, while others arrived in the form of meteorites." "That meteorite we saw when we first landed," Adric merely wondered, "was that one of those Krynoids?" "Yes," "Well," Lady Elizabeth sighed, "it seems as if Adric and I have worn out our welcome here." "Worn out...what do you mean?" "Oh, there was a bit of a misunderstanding between Lando and I..." "Lando, is that his name?" Adric motioned towards the skull faced man. "Yes," he and I are going back to our planet together." "What is the name of your planet?" "Well," Lady Elizabeth shrugged, "that's under dispute. Lando wants to revert it back to Cyrenia, but I like the new name." "Which is?" "Elizabeth's world." The Doctor coughed. "Stick with Cyrenia." "Hey Adric," Lady Elizabeth smiled, "why don't you come back to Eliz... Cyrenia with us?" Adric's eyes turned towards the Doctor. "May I." "I'm not stopping you," the Doctor said, "just remember if you get homesick for Alzerius, only the TARDIS can take you there. It's not like you can hop the next transport." "I realize that," "And what about Nyssa?" "What about her?" Adric wondered. "I looked in my 500 year diary, and I saw mention of her." "So? It was probably referring to the Traken incident." The Doctor shook his head. "This was an incident that took place on Earth." "Oh..." "You do like Nyssa, don't you?" "Yes, but I also like Lady Elizabeth." "Think about this," Lady Elizabeth said as she took Adric's hands into hers, "Cyrenian has two moons that constantly chase each other around the planet, and the locusts give serenades, different one, depending on how close or far part the moons are to each other. We can always walk down the beaches alone, watch the moons and listen to the insects sing to us." "Aren't you the least bit curious as to how Nyssa ends up on Earth?" "And the waters are as clear as crystal, even at night they catch the light and light up everything around, and it is always warm, we can go swimming in it even at night...just you and me." "You and me...alone?" Adric wondered. "Uh-huh." "Doctor...I." Adric stammered. "Go on," at that the Doctor turned and walked away, leaving Adric with Lady Elizabeth. The Doctor took his time on making his way back to the TARDIS, and when he did, he took his time on setting the controls on the console; he even paused for a good old cup of tea and to nibble at a hand full of biscuits he lifted from some confectionary stand. "Well old girl," the Doctor said to the TARDIS, "it looks like it's just you and me for the first time since..." he paused, "well, since ever! There has always been a companion with me inside your corridors, Susan, Ian, Sarah Jane, Jo Grant...there was always somebody, but now with Adric gone, there's suddenly nobody. Uh well, I'm sure I'll find somebody..." he began to flip the switch, when suddenly there was a mild tapping at the doors. The doors swung open, and Adric marched in. "I decided to change my mind." He did not even look back to watch the doors close behind him. "What happened? Fight?" "No. I like her and all, and she was beautiful, but I was beginning to realize that I was getting ready to spend the rest of my life with her, and I wasn't even sure if I truly like her." "So you decided to come back here." "She did give me something." "Her picture?" "Better still," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small palm sized disc, "she gave me a holographic image of her." "Let me see," the Doctor took the disk in his hand and activated the image, "Adric...have you actually seen the image?" "Not yet," Adric glanced at the image, it was an image of Lady Elizabeth, only she was wearing no clothes, and she was dancing about. "OH WOW!" "I'd keep this in your room." "And Doctor," Adric sighed as he stare at the naked image of Lady Elizabeth, as it danced around on the disc, all of a sudden, his hormones started to kick in, "you better take off...before I change my mind again!" A smile came to the Doctor's face as there was an all too familiar grinding sound, and the TARDIS disappeared from the planet Endora, as just a few feet above, a tiny ship begins to break orbit, on this ship were two passengers, one was Lando, and the other Lady Elizabeth, in her hand was a small disc. She sat back, and studied the image almost lovingly, wondering what could have been between her and Adric.... }}